System and apparatus for resource management

ABSTRACT

A mobile drive apparatus is disclosed for use at a transport hub. The apparatus can include one or more drive motors configured to drive the apparatus from a first location to a second location within the transport hub. The apparatus can include a wireless communication module and antenna configured to form a wireless communications link with a resource management system and receive command instructions from the resource management system. The apparatus can include a control processor coupled to the one or more drive motors and coupled to the wireless communication module and antenna. The control processor can be configured to control the one or more drive motors to move the apparatus from the first location to the second location within the transport hub in response to receiving a command instruction from the resource management system via the wireless communication module.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED CASES

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/612,138, filed Nov. 8, 2019 and entitled “SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FORRESOURCE MANAGEMENT,” which is a national phase entry of, and claims thebenefit of and priority to, International Patent App. No.PCT/IB2018/053523, filed May 18, 2018, entitled “SYSTEM AND APPARATUSFOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT,” which claims the benefit of and priority toU.S. Provisional Application No. 62/508,466, filed May 19, 2017,entitled “SYSTEM AND APPARATUS FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT,” and GreatBritain Application No. 1803429.8, filed Mar. 2, 2018, entitled “SYSTEMAND APPARATUS FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT,” each of which are incorporatedby reference in their entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates in general to a system, apparatus andmethod for improved management of electronic resources, particularly foruse at a transport hub or travel interchange, such as an airport. Evenmore particularly, the present invention relates to an electronicapparatus, such as an interactive terminal, for use at an airport hub,rail or bus interchange, port or other travel interchange or termini.The present invention is particularly, but not exclusively concernedwith an interactive kiosk for use at an airport hub or travelinterchange.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The volume of passengers travelling through airports has increasedsignificantly in recent years. This places a greater burden on airportauthorities, and airlines, to more effectively manage their resources toaccommodate the ever increasing needs and size of their passengersgroups. For example, increased passenger volumes can often result inincreased congestion at airports. This increased congestion also slowsdown the throughput of passengers from the airport entrance to theaircraft. This congestion and increasing queues at check-in counters mayresult in departure delays for airlines and may also impact the airportwith additional costs and inefficiencies, as more staff are required tomanage and coordinate passengers and their baggage. Furthermore,increased congestion can become particularly problematic inuncontrollable or unexpected circumstances. For example, in the event ofunexpected bad weather, or unexpected maintenance in a portion of theairport, congestion can become particularly problematic.

It would therefore be desirable to provide the likes of transportauthorities, and transport providers with an improved system, apparatusand method for management of electronic resources for use at a transporthub or travel interchange, such as an airport.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is defined in the appended claims to which referenceshould now be made. Embodiments of the invention seek to address theabove problems by providing an improved system, apparatus and method formanagement of electronic resources for use at a transport hub or travelinterchange, such as an airport.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided amobile drive unit or mobile drive apparatus, preferably for use at atransport hub. The mobile drive apparatus comprises a drive meansconfigured to drive the apparatus from a first location to a secondlocation within the transport hub; a wireless communication moduleconfigured to form a wireless communications link with a resourcemanagement system, and receive command instructions from the resourcemanagement system; and a control means coupled to the drive means andcoupled to the wireless communication module. The control means isconfigured to control the drive means to move the apparatus from a firstlocation to a second location within the transport hub, in response toreceiving a command instruction from the resource management system viathe wireless communication module.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provideda mobile drive apparatus for use at a transport hub, the apparatuscomprising: a drive means configured to drive the apparatus between twoor more locations within the transport hub; a wireless communicationmodule configured to form a wireless communications link with one ormore remote computers or servers, such as a departure control system,and receive data from each of the remote computer or server relating tothe transport hub; and a control means coupled to the drive means andcoupled to the wireless communication module; wherein the control meansis configured to analyse the data received from each of the remotecomputers or servers, and determine whether the drive apparatus shouldbe moved from its current location to a new, different location withinthe transport hub; and wherein, if the control means determines that theapparatus should be moved to a new, different location, the controlmeans is further configured to issue a command instruction to the drivemeans to control the drive means to move the apparatus to the new,different location.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provideda resource management system for managing deployment of one or moremobile drive apparatus in a transport hub, the system comprising: a datainput module configured to receive data from one or more data sources,said data relating to the transport hub; a process director coupled tothe data input module and configured to analyse the data received viathe data input module, and determine whether one or more thresholdcriteria has been met; and a resource communication module coupled tothe process director, the resource communication module being configuredto issue a command instruction to one or more mobile drive units whenthe process director has determined that the one or more thresholdcriteria has been met, wherein said command instruction comprises aninstruction for the mobile drive apparatus to move to a specifiedlocation within the transport hub.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda resource management system for managing deployment of one or moremobile interactive kiosks in a transport hub, the system comprising: adata input module configured to receive data from one or more datasources, said data sources including a departure control system, whereinthe data received from the departure control system relates to a flightthat has been cancelled within the transport hub; a process directorcoupled to the data input module and configured to analyse the datareceived via the data input module relating to the cancelled flight, theprocess director being further configured to: identify an area withinthe transport hub associated with the cancelled flight; determinewhether there are a sufficient number of interactive kiosks presentwithin said identified area for servicing the passengers affected by thecancelled flight, wherein said determination is based at least in parton a rules based engine, preferably utilising data received from the oneor more data sources; and identify whether one or more additional mobileinteractive kiosks are available in another, different area of thetransport hub; wherein the system further comprises a resourcecommunication module coupled to the process director, the resourcecommunication module being configured to issue a command instruction toany additional available mobile interactive kiosks that have beenidentified by the processor director, when the process director hasdetermined that there is not a sufficient number of interactive kioskspresent within the area associated with the cancelled flight; andwherein the command instruction and comprises an instruction for saididentified and available one or more kiosks to move to the areaassociated with the cancelled flight.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda resource management system for managing deployment of one or moremobile interactive kiosks in a transport hub, the system comprising: adata input module configured to receive data from one or more datasources, said data sources including a departure control system, whereinthe data received from the departure control system relates the numberof passengers that have checked in for a flight that is due to departfrom the transport hub; a process director coupled to the data inputmodule and configured to analyse the data received via the data inputmodule relating to the departing flight, preferably together with datareceived from at least one other data source, wherein the processdirector is further configured to: determine whether there are asufficient number of interactive kiosks present within a check-in areaassociated with said departing flight, based at least in part on a rulesbased engine and the data received from the departure control system;and identify whether one or more additional mobile interactive kiosksare available in another, different area of the transport hub; whereinthe system further comprises a resource communication module coupled tothe process director, the resource communication module being configuredto issue a command instruction to any additional available mobileinteractive kiosks that have been identified by the processor director,when the process director has determined that there is not a sufficientnumber of interactive kiosks present within the check-in area associatedwith said departing flight; and wherein the command instruction andcomprises an instruction for said identified and available one or morekiosks to move to the check-in area associated with said departingflight.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of managing deployment of one or more mobile drive apparatus ina transport hub, the method comprising, preferably at a server:receiving data from one or more data sources, said data relating to thetransport hub; analysing the received data to determine whether one ormore threshold criteria has been met; and issuing a command instructionto one or more mobile drive units if the analysing step results in adetermination that the one or more threshold criteria has been met,wherein said command instruction comprises an instruction for the one ormore mobile drive apparatus to move to a specified location within thetransport hub.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing deployment of one or more mobileinteractive kiosks in a transport hub, the method comprising, preferablyat a resource management system: receiving data from one or more datasources, said data sources including a departure control system, whereinthe data received from the departure control system relates to a flightthat has been cancelled within the transport hub; analysing the receiveddata, including the data relating to the cancelled flight; identifyingan area within the transport hub associated with the cancelled flight;determining whether there are a sufficient number of interactive kioskspresent within said identified area for servicing the passengersaffected by the cancelled flight, wherein said determination is based atleast in part on a rules based engine, preferably utilising datareceived from the one or more data sources; identifying whether one ormore additional mobile interactive kiosks are available in another,different area of the transport hub; and issuing a command instructionto any additional available mobile interactive kiosks that have beenidentified, if the determining step has resulted in a determination thatthere is not a sufficient number of interactive kiosks present withinthe area associated with the cancelled flight, wherein the commandinstruction comprises an instruction for said identified and availableone or more kiosks to move to the area associated with the cancelledflight.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a method of managing deployment of one or more mobileinteractive kiosks in a transport hub, the method comprising, preferablyat a resource management system: receiving data from one or more datasources, said data sources including a departure control system, whereinthe data received from the departure control system relates the numberof passengers that have checked in for a flight that is due to departfrom the transport hub; analysing the received data, including the datarelating to the departing flight, preferably together with data receivedfrom at least one other data source; determining whether there are asufficient number of interactive kiosks present within a check-in areaassociated with said departing flight, based at least in part on a rulesbased engine and the data received from the departure control system;and identifying whether one or more additional mobile interactive kiosksare available in another, different area of the transport hub; andissuing a command instruction to any additional available mobileinteractive kiosks that have been identified by the identifying step, ifthe determining step has resulted in a determination that there is not asufficient number of interactive kiosks present within the check-in areaassociated with said departing flight; wherein the command instructioncomprises an instruction for said identified and available one or morekiosks to move to the check-in area associated with said departingflight.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of deploying a mobile drive apparatus for use at a transporthub, the method comprising, preferably at the mobile drive apparatus:forming a wireless communication link with a resource management system,preferably via a wireless beacon within the transport hub; receiving acommand instruction from the resource management system via the wirelesscommunication link; initiating a drive function on the mobile driveapparatus in response to receiving the command instruction, said drivefunction being configured to drive the apparatus from a first locationto a second location within the transport hub.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda method of deploying a mobile drive apparatus for use at a transporthub, the method comprising, preferably at the mobile drive apparatus:forming a wireless communication link with one or more remote computersor servers, such as a departure control system, preferably via awireless beacon within the transport hub; receiving data relating to thetransport hub via the wireless communication link, said data originatingfrom the one or more remote computers or servers; analysing the datareceived via the wireless communication link, and determining whetherthe drive apparatus should be moved from its current location to a new,different location within the transport hub, preferably based at leastin part on a rules based engine and the data received from the departurecontrol system; issuing a command instruction to a drive means of themobile drive apparatus if the analysing step has resulted in adetermination that the apparatus should be moved to a new, differentlocation within the transport hub; initiating a drive function on themobile drive apparatus in response to receiving the command instruction,said drive function being configured to drive the apparatus to the new,different location within the transport hub.

In one preferred implementation of the present invention, the mobiledrive unit or apparatus is a mobile interactive kiosk. Such a kioskdiffers from transport kiosks known in the art, in that it is mobile,rather than fixed in a specific place in the transport hub. That is, thekiosk comprises drive means that can move the kiosk between specificlocations within the transport hub environment. This advantageouslyallows the kiosk to be rapidly deployed to a specified area of thetransport hub, if a determination has been made that the kiosk would bebetter utilised in said area. For example, in the context of an airportenvironment: if a flight is unexpectedly cancelled, a determination canbe made that a specified area of the airport is likely to experience anunexpected increase in passenger levels, because passengers for saidcancelled flight will be directed to said specified area for re-booking.With embodiments of the present invention, the mobile drive kiosk canrapidly deployed itself to said specified area to provide additionalresources for enabling said additional passengers to be re-booked ontoother flights. This rapid deployment would not be possible withtransport kiosks known in the art, since they are fixed in place andwould require extensive time consuming manual intervention in order tounfix them from their current location and install them in a newlocation in the airport.

Some of the preferred features of the various aspects of the presentinvention will now be described. It will be appreciated by one of skillin the art that each preferred feature described below, may be equallyapplicable to one or more of the aspects of the present invention. Itwill be further appreciated that the preferred features may becombinable with one another in any suitable combination.

Preferably, the control means is configured to receive and analyse datafrom two or more different data sources, and issue the commandinstruction to the drive means based on the analysis of the datareceived from the two or more data sources. Preferably, said datasources include at least two of: a departure control system; a transporthub inventory, such as an inventory of the mobile drive apparatuspresent in the transport hub; air traffic control; airport operations;airline systems; airport online database, gate agents and the like.

Preferably, the command instruction comprises a locational component forindicating the specified location within the transport hub that thedrive apparatus should move to. Alternatively or additionally, thecommand instruction preferably comprises a temporal component forindicating when the drive apparatus should move to the specifiedlocation within the transport hub.

Preferably, the mobile drive apparatus comprises a memory storing a mapdepicting at least an area of a transport hub. Preferably, the mobiledrive apparatus is configured to use the map to navigate between a firstlocation and a second location within the area of the transport hub,along one or more predetermined paths. Preferably, the mobile driveapparatus is configured to determine the one or more paths.

Preferably, the mobile drive apparatus comprises one or more sensorsconfigured to detect one or more objects in proximity to the mobiledrive apparatus and alert the control means, in the event that an objectis detected. The sensors may be laser sensors.

Preferably, the mobile drive apparatus is an interactive kiosk.Preferably, the interactive kiosk is configured to provide one or moreof the following services or functions: check-in, flight booking, flightre-booking, ticket changing, airport information, flight statuschecking, document verification, passenger verification, boarding passprinting, bag tag printing and the like.

Preferably, the process director is further coupled to a resourcedatabase containing data related to the current state of one of moreresources in the transport hub. Preferably, such data includes datarelating to the current state of the one or more mobile apparatus withinthe transport hub. The data relating current state may include: datarelating to the current location, battery level, usage, and demand levelof each of the one or more mobile apparatus.

Preferably, the process director is configured to analyse the receiveddata using a rules based engine. The rules based engine may be fixed ordynamic. The rules based engine may utilise existing data, such as datacontained in a resource database, as well as the received data.

Preferably, the process director is configured to receive and analysedata from two or more different data sources, and the resourcecommunication module is configured to issue the command instruction tothe mobile drive apparatus based on the analysis of the data receivedfrom the two or more data sources.

Preferably, the data input module is further configured to perform aservice call to a database associated with a transportation hub.Preferably, the service call is a SOAP XML Web service call communicatedusing a secure transfer protocol or a rest API call.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of exampleonly, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 a and 1 b are perspective views of a mobile drive apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the mobile drive apparatus of FIGS. 1 a and 1b;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the main functional components ofa resource management system according to one embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example embodiment of a systemaccording to the invention, including a plurality of mobile driveapparatus;

FIG. 5 depicts a first example scenario according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 depicts a second example scenario according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 depicts a third example scenario according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 8 depicts a fourth example scenario according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 9 depicts a fifth example scenario according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram showing the main steps performed by anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing the main steps performed by anotherembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram showing the main steps performed by yetanother embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram showing the main steps performed by a furtherembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram showing the main steps performed by yet afurther embodiment of the invention.

The following description is of a system, apparatus, and method ofoperation of a drive unit for use in the aviation industry, but this isexemplary and other applications of the invention will also bediscussed. For example, embodiments of the invention find application inthe travel industry in general for example rail, air, coach industriesand the like.

Further, the system, apparatus and method embodying the invention may beused in any environment where it may be desirable to deploy a mobiledrive apparatus to a specified location within a transport interchange,hub or depot. For example, the method and system may find application inthe rail, coach and shipping sectors in addition to the aviation sectorexamples described below.

The below description refers to embodiments where the mobile driveapparatus is an interactive electronic kiosk, such as a kiosk havingcheck-in functionality. However, it will be appreciated that many of theembodiments could be equally described with reference to other forms ofmobile drive apparatus for use in a transport hub environment. Forexample, the mobile drive apparatus could be a cleaning robot, an itemtransport robot, such as a luggage transport robot, and a securityterminal.

The interactive electronic kiosk may be configured to provide a numberof services or functions. For example, the kiosk may be configured toprovide one or more of the following services or functions: check-in,flight booking, flight re-booking, ticket changing, airport information,flight status checking, document verification, passenger verification,boarding pass printing, bag tag printing and the like. The check inkiosk may therefore comprise one or more of the following: a displayscreen, preferably a touch-screen display; a reader, such as barcode orpassport scanner; a printer, such as a boarding pass or bag tag printer;a microphone; a camera, preferably associated with facial recognitionsoftware; and one or more audio speakers.

As described in more detail below, the interactive electronic kiosk mayalso comprise one or more wheels, which may include guide wheels such ascasters, as well as drive wheels for driving the kiosk. The kiosk maycomprise one or more batteries for powering the drive means. A chargingport may be provided on the kiosk for charging the one or morebatteries. The kiosk may also include one or more sensors, such as lasersensors for alerting the kiosk of nearby objects, particularly when thekiosk is navigating along a predefined path from a first location to asecond location.

The kiosk comprises a wireless communication module. This enables thekiosk to form a wireless communication link with one or more remoteservers such as a departure control system, and/or a resource managementsystem. The kiosk may connect to such servers via one or more wirelessbeacons distributed within the transport hub environment. Consequently,as the kiosk moves through the transport hub environment, the wirelesscommunication link may be required to switch between beacons within thehub, based on whichever beacon can best service the kiosk, e.g. thebeacon that can provide the strongest signal or that resides closest tothe intended path of the kiosk.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 a, 1 b and 2 of the drawings, in an embodimentof the present invention, the mobile drive apparatus is a mobileelectronic kiosk 1001. The kiosk has an interactive touch screen 102,that an airline passenger can interact with in order for the kiosk toperform one or more functions, such as check-in, flight booking, flightre-booking, ticket changing, airport information, flight statuschecking, document verification, passenger verification, boarding passprinting, bag tag printing and the like. The kiosk 1001 has an identitydocument scanner in the form of a passport scanner 103, and a print-outtray 104 onto which the kiosk can print a boarding pass and/or bag tag.The kiosk also has a slot 105 at its lower end for one or more internallaser sensors (not shown). A further access port 106 is provided towardsthe rear of the kiosk. An emergency stop button 108 is provided on aside wall of the kiosk 1001. This may enable a person to disable thekiosk. A key slot 109 is also provided on a side wall of the kiosk 1001.This can allow the kiosk 1001 to be opened for maintenance.

As best seen from the bottom view of FIG. 2 , the base of the mobilekiosk 1001 comprises a plurality of wheels for enabling the kiosk totravel around an airport. In particular the kiosk has two drive wheels201, 202 which are coupled to a drive mechanism that is controlled by acontrol means within the kiosk 1001. The drive wheels 201, 202 can bedriven independently of one another to allow for turning of the kiosk1001. The kiosk also has a pair of front caster wheels 203, 204 and apair of rear caster wheels 205, 206, which can provide additionalstability and control for the kiosk 1001 as it travels through theairport. The drive mechanism is powered by one or more internalrechargeable batteries within the kiosk 1001. The drive unit comprisesat least one battery unit and preferably, a split battery arrangement isprovided. A first battery may be positioned a few centimetres in frontof the axis of rotation of each wheel. The battery or cell may be a 24Volt, 177 Ah cell and may have a weight of about 60 kg each. This mayprovide between 4 and 12 hours of operation without charging dependentupon use. The first battery is usually positioned so that itapproximately lies in the same plane as each drive wheel and eachassociated drive motor. The drive motors may form a differential driveunit which may be controlled by the processor associated with the driveunit (not shown in the drawings). A second battery may be positionedtowards the front of the drive unit. The split battery arrangement meansmay help the drive unit to be substantially equally balanced around thepivot axis of the two drive wheels.

The kiosk also has a wireless communication antenna (not shown) and awireless communication module (not shown) that allow the kiosk to form awireless communications link with one or more servers. The link may beformed via one or more beacons within the airport.

In more detail, the kiosks themselves are self-driving, autonomous andwirelessly connected airport devices. The kiosks navigate using terminallayout data, a wireless data connection to the control system in theserver, a laser scanning tool for locating themselves in the airportwithin a set of allowed paths between points on the map. A collisionavoidance mechanism allows small deviations around e.g. people in theairport, while following the allowed paths.

The laser scanning capability is used by the kiosks to create theterminal layout data. By self-driving and locating the coordinates ofobstacles, boundaries, peculiarities detected etc. in the terminal, itis possible for the kiosk to create a map of the layout of the airportboundaries and obstacles. This map can be uploaded to the cloudmanagement system for verification and modification, according to otherdesires/rules of the building to define areas that kiosks are to beexcluded from either stopping or driving through. Alternatively, the mapcan be manually input to the database.

Once this map database has been defined and distributed amongst thekiosks, they can then navigate themselves through the airport using thelaser scanning tool for measuring proximity to airport features vialight travel time between emitting and receiving reflected beams, inconjunction with a measure of orientation e.g. Electroniccompass/Magnetometer. They are also able to collate other measurabledata e.g. wireless connection strength, in order to add additionalparameters regarding whereabouts the kiosks can operate. Once this mapdata is available, the laser scanning can then be used to detectobstructions within the airport such as passengers, stranded baggage, orother typical obstructions within an airport.

The kiosks are connected over Wi-Fi to the management platform, via asystem that is tolerant of an intermittent connection, which may belikely given they will travel through various zones in the airportterminal. However, the kiosks require a Wi-Fi connection to processpassenger/bag data and upload it to the airport's various databases,which may limit the locations they may function.

The airport has a dedicated maintenance area which the kiosks can takethemselves to when needed, with self-diagnosing systems detecting theneed for attention to any of their systems. The area is equipped withcharging/docking stations that kiosks can take themselves to in order torestore battery charge. They also have a port in the back to allowmanual control via a joystick, or to plug in to the system to access theinternal systems.

In embodiments of the invention a resource management platform or systemis provided to manage deployment of one or more mobile drive apparatusin a transport hub. One such embodiment is represented by FIG. 3 .

The management platform 301 of FIG. 3 enables the smart deployment ofkiosks at a useful time and to a useful location. Other benefits frommobile kiosks include making cleaning easier, generating clearevacuation routes during fire alarms, as well as extra kiosk deploymentto help process large numbers of passengers in a short space of time dueto disruption. The management platform has information on airportschedules, device maintenance, the airport layout, as well as live datafrom e.g. baggage handling, air traffic control etc. It is then able touse this full set of data to deploy the appropriate number of kioskswhen and where they are to be most effective.

The management platform is shown in the schematic in FIG. 3 . Datasources 302 are on the upper right, in orange, and show the many typesof data feed that can be used by the system, over several differentprotocols etc. shown in the white blocks. The data are then given to aProcess Director 304 which will analyse all the data to provide temporaland locational instructions to kiosks through the Autonomous AssetCommunications Platform. This will involve assessing the data via arules engine/AI system to make decisions on kiosk deployment. Examplerules could be “If number of passengers affected by cancellation exceedsnumber of static kiosks by a factor of 2, deploy the minimum number ofkiosks such that this is fraction is brought below 2, for a duration of2 hours” In this Figure, The Process Director 304 also administersscheduling, inventory, planning, traffic control, route management andmaintenance throughout the airport. Other data which may be analysed bythe Process Director can include, for example, a CCTV-fed videoanalytics system, from which the system may determine that a very largenumber of people are queueing in a zone—in response, the ProcessDirector may direct an appropriate number of kiosks to that area to easethe congestion.

At the top level, the various data inputs, and aspects considered by theProcess Director, are all available for analysis via the businessintelligence/reporting functionality. This can provide KPIs, big dataanalytics, efficiency metrics, utilisation measures etc. and allow thesystem to be analysed in order to determine if e.g. more kiosks areneeded, or if they are currently under-utilised and could benefit fromchanges to the Process Director's decision making functionality in orderto deploy them more frequently.

The system's outputs can be used widely throughout the airport throughindividual vendor APIs. This allows a detailed reporting and analysisfunctionality in order to study the system's behaviour.

The control messages from the Process Director are sent over thecommunications platform 305, which is a wireless connectivity means suchas Wi-Fi. This is shown in the green area of the diagram. This data isthen available through APIs, and sent to the Vendor Specific ManagementPlatform to send the relevant commands to the vendor-specific kiosks.The kiosks/robotic machinery then receives this temporal and locationalinformation, and either determines which of the set of allowed paths isoptimal for navigation to this location, or receives the ideal path aspart of the instruction, which is followed by the kiosk taking the idealpath to this location. This is shown in FIG. 4 , where a kiosk is toldto migrate from Check in Area A to Area B. The kiosk travels within thepermitted path from A to B, taking a deviation around a temporaryobstruction (this might be any temporary obstruction, such as anabandoned luggage trolley, or a person obstructing the kiosk's travelpath)

The scenario shown in FIG. 4 is as follows:

-   -   1) Flight is cancelled, leaving a full flight's worth of        passengers looking to all rebook onto the next available flight        to the same destination    -   2) Data regarding cancelled flight enters management platform,        and is received at the Process Director    -   3) Process Director 304 analyses data and through a rules        database engine or form of AI predicts a likely surge in        passengers needing to use check-in kiosks in Check-in Zone B to        re-book flights. This check in zone only has 2 active, static        kiosks, yet there are many passengers looking to use the        facilities simultaneously.    -   4) Process Director 304 determines that a subset of mobile        kiosks in Check-in Zone A are currently under-utilised        (identified by unique ID number), and that they are the best        positioned kiosks for deployment into Check-in Zone B due to        their proximity.    -   5) Process Director 304 generates temporal and locational        instructions for subset of mobile kiosks in Check-in Zone A to        move to Zone B—including which route to take    -   6) Data packet of instructions sent to Autonomous Asset        Communications Platform and communicated via in/out APIs to        Vendor Specific Management platform    -   7) Vendor-specific temporal and locational instructions        communicated over Wi-Fi to subset of mobile kiosks which are        required to move to Check-in Zone B    -   8) Mobile kiosks begin to move along said predetermined path    -   9) Mobile kiosks encounter temporary obstruction within the        path, and deviate from predetermine path by minimal amount such        that they can continue on the path    -   10) Mobile kiosks position themselves in predetermined locations        in Zone B

The result is that the various autonomous kiosk solutions can bedeployed in an appropriate number, time and location to resolve adetected situation. This negates the need for a manager to observe thesituation developing, and have staff deploy and even operate the kiosks,thereby minimising disruption in an autonomous and highly efficient way.

The following five examples will now be described with reference to theinformation provided in FIGS. 5-9 .

EXAMPLE 1

In this first example depicted by FIG. 5 , a cancelled flight hasresulted in hundreds of passengers who now need to re-book onto newflights, and check in. This is detected by the system from the airportdata feed into the management platform, in this instance an alert issent containing flight cancellation details. Normally, these passengerswould cause large queues at existing infrastructure. With automated,mobile kiosks managed by a system which receives the data on flightcancellations, a set of kiosks can be deployed to the appropriatelocation in order to dramatically reduce queues. This improves thepassenger experience and reduces congestion in the terminal.

EXAMPLE 2

In this second example scenario depicted by FIG. 6 , it is observed thata flight due to depart soon has a significant number of passengers whoare yet to check in at the airport. This will be determined from thetop-level data feed into the system from the many airport systems. Thismeans that it is likely that many of these passengers will arrive at theterminal in a very short time frame, potentially generating very largequeues. In anticipation of this, the system realises many passengers aredue to check in very soon, and a number of kiosks can be deployed to theappropriate check in area to ease queues.

EXAMPLE 3

In this third example depicted by FIG. 7 , many kiosks have beendeployed for a long time. These are due back at the docking stations tocharge their batteries. The kiosks in need of charging are retracted,and new kiosks deployed to replace them in their role at that locationin the airport. If no kiosks are available, an alert is sent to airportstaff to enable them to act accordingly to ease the queues.

EXAMPLE 4

In this third example depicted by FIG. 8 , an area of the airport can nolonger be accessed, due to e.g. spillage of liquid, renovation, securityalert etc. This would be part of a kiosk's route for accessing adeployment location, or for returning to the maintenance/storage areaafter deployment. This area is modified on the map, such that the kioskswon't access it.

EXAMPLE 5

In this third example depicted by FIG. 9 , the fire alarm has beentriggered and passengers must evacuate the building, passing through anarea with the autonomous kiosks deployed throughout the foyer. Kiosksthat are in the path of passengers will be flagged as such, andinstructed to move. Using sensors to ensure passengers are not collidedwith/obstructed, the kiosks move themselves out of the way in order thatpassengers can safely and quickly evacuate the terminal.

The one or more sources of data that feed into the resource managementsystem may include a departure control system, and aspects of theresource management system may analyse data received from the DCS todetermine whether a command instruction should be sent to the mobiledrive apparatus, based on the analysed data. Alternatively oradditionally, the mobile drive apparatus may directly receive data fromthe one or more sources of data, such as the DCS, and analyse thereceived data itself and determine whether it should issue a commandinstruction to its drive means, based on the analysed data. In anyevent, the departure control system, DCS 1003 may optionally comprise alocal or remotely stored database 1005. Usually, the departure controlsystem resides on a computer or server which is communicatively coupled,via wired or wireless communication means, such as a transmitter orreceiver, to the drive unit 1001, preferably via the resource managementsystem. Alternatively, or in addition, the departure control system maybe communicatively coupled to a central server or computer 1007 whichmay be communicatively coupled to the drive unit 1001 as well as one ormore additional drive units, not shown in FIG. 1 . In any event, thedeparture control system may also be communicatively coupled to aticketing or/and sales control system which controls the sale oftickets.

The database 1005 may be stored on a writeable or rewriteable storagemedium such as hard disk or solid state storage means such as flashdrive, ROM, RAM, or other storage means which will be known to theskilled person, such as cloud storage. The database usually comprisespassenger data associated with a passenger who has previously booked ormade a reservation for a ticket for travel on a particular scheduledflight operated by an airline. Such departure control systems andticketing/sales control systems are well known to the skilled person,and therefore will not be described in further detail. The DCS maycomprise a server or computer hardware coupled to the storage medium.

The drive unit 1001 may comprise computer hardware or software whichwhen executed undertakes one or more predetermined method steps, whichwill be described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 4 a and b ofthe drawings. The software may comprise one or more modules which may becommunicatively coupled to the central server 1007 for example via a busor via other wired or wireless communication means.

The central server 1007, which may be coupled to a control center 1009may comprise one or more of an application programming interface, API,105. The API may be configured to provide one or more modules forcentral management of a fleet of drive units. A control module may beprovided which allows an operator to monitor the current location of thedrive unit. The control unit may also be configured to change a routefollowed by the drive unit if needed. Further, faults occurring on adrive unit which prevent it from performing a task may be transmitted tothe server 1009 or/and to the control center 1009. Similarly, any damageor errors associated with a drive unit may be transmitted to the centralserver 1007 or/and control center 1009.

The system may further comprise a portable or mobile communicationdevice, or other user device 1009 such as mobile telephone, tablet,laptop, or other communication device which may communicate with theserver 1007 or directly with a drive unit 1001 using wired or wirelesscommunication protocols (for example using Wi-Fi®, third generation(3-G) or fourth generation (4-G) wireless protocols) which will be knownto the skilled person. Usually, the communication device 1009 isassociated with the passenger who has made a reservation for a ticketfor a journey between an origin and destination.

The system may further comprise a control center console 1009, which maycomprise computer hardware or software or both. The console 1009 isusually operated by airport management services and allows the airportto manage beacons within a particular area or airport. However,individual airlines may also operate the control console.

The web console 1009 usually resides on a separate computer or server,but in principle may be part of central server 1007. The web console1009 may comprise software or hardware which when executed may performone or more of the method steps described with particular reference tothe control center. The web console may be communicatively coupled tothe server 1007 and in particular to the departure control system 1003.

The control means of the drive may determine the location of the driveunit. This may be performed, for example using GPS or by triangulationof wireless communication signals. Further, the mobile drive unit maynavigate using the laser scanners which detects features or obstaclesand navigates around them.

The processor of the control means can then compare the location to oneor more waypoints associated with a predetermined route, such as a routefrom a base station to a check-in area. Usually, the drive unitprocessor selects the waypoint closest to the current location anddetermines the drive vector (i.e. direction and distance) to thatlocation. The drive unit then moves to the closest waypoint. Once at theone of the waypoint, the drive unit then control the differential drivemechanism so that the drive unit follow the predetermined course orroute based on a comparison of the current know drive unit location andthe location of the waypoints making up the predetermined route.

The drive unit may be provided with an ANTS navigation unit. This allowsthe processor to determine a position or location of the drive unit, andto control the movement of the drive unit along one or morepredetermined virtual paths. Such a navigation units are available fromBlueBotics SA, of Jordils 41B, CH-1025, St-Sulpice, Switzerland.

In one example, each drive unit 1001 may comprise a memory (such as aROM, RAM, or flash memory for example), preferably for storing aplurality of predetermined, different routes or paths. The memory maystore a map depicting at least an area of a transport hub, andpreferably at least an area of a transport hub in which the drive unitis location or to be located. The map may be generated by the drive unit1001 through exploration of at least a portion of the transport hub. Inparticular, the drive unit 1001 may be configured to navigate through atleast a portion of the transport and use one or more sensors todetermine the relative locations of one or more objects and/or wallswithin the portion of the transport hub. The drive unit may then beconfigured to establish one or more predefined routes through theportion of the transport hub, between specified locations in thetransport hub, such as check in areas.

Each of the plurality of predetermined paths may share a common originor/and destination. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings, thetwo different predetermined training paths 1021, 2021 share a commonorigin (i.e. the start of each paths are associated with the samelocation) but each route or path is defined by one or more differentwaypoints. This may have the benefit that if an obstruction is detectedby laser scanners 10001 or 10003 in the selected path, that analternative path may be selected to avoid the obstruction while stillarriving at the destination. An OMRON™ laser scanner may be used forobject detection/localization such as model OS 32C-SP1.

In one specific example, the drive unit may meet the following technicalspecification:

General

-   -   1.2 Autonomy: minimum 4 h, optimal 12 h    -   1.3 Battery charging via cable

Mobility

-   -   2.1 Max speed: 1 m/s    -   2.2 Ability to move forward and backward    -   2.3 Ability to turn on the spot    -   2.4 Max slopes: 3%    -   2.5 Max steps to overcome: 10 mm    -   2.5 Max gaps to overcome: 10 mm

Perception

-   -   3.1 360° safety by way of 2 safety laser scanners    -   3.2 Laser scanner plane at 100 mm+/−50 mm from ground    -   3.3 No perception above the laser plane    -   3.4 No perception below the laser plan    -   3.5 No detection of holes (staircases, sidewalks, etc.)

Navigation

-   -   4.1 Path following and obstacles avoidance available    -   4.2 Manual movement by joystick possible

The mobile drive unit 1001 and/or the resource management system 301 maycomprise computer hardware or software which when executed undertakesone or more predetermined method steps, which will be described infurther detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 14 of the drawings. Thesoftware may comprise one or more modules which may be communicativelycoupled to the components of the mobile drive unit 1001 and/or theresource management system 301, for example via a bus or via other wiredor wireless communication means. The resource management system 301 maycomprise one or more of an application programming interface, API, 306.The API may be configured to provide one or more modules for centralmanagement of a fleet of mobile drive units.

Referring now to the flow diagram of FIG. 10 of the drawings, the mainsteps performed by one embodiment of the invention will now bedescribed. The method relates to the deployment of one or more mobiledrive units at a transport hub. The steps are preferably performed at aserver, such as the resource management platform.

At step 10001, data is received from one or more data sources, such as adeparture control system. The data relates to the transport hub. Forexample, the data may relate to a flight that has been cancelled at thetransport hub, or a flight that will shortly be departing from thetransport hub. At step 10002, the received data is analysed to determinewhether one or more threshold criteria has been met. At step 10003, acommand instruction is issued to one or more mobile drive units if theanalysing step results in a determination that the one or more thresholdcriteria has been met. The command instruction comprises an instructionfor the one or more mobile drive apparatus to move to a specifiedlocation within the transport hub.

Referring now to the flow diagram of FIG. 11 of the drawings, the mainsteps performed by one embodiment of the invention will now bedescribed. The method relates to the deployment of one or more mobiledrive units at a transport hub. The steps are preferably performed at aserver, such as the resource management platform.

At step 11001, data is received from one or more data sources, said datasources including a departure control system, wherein the data receivedfrom the departure control system relates to a flight that has beencancelled within the transport hub. The received data includes data thatrelates to a flight that has been cancelled within the transport hub. Atstep 11002, the received data is analysed. At step 11003, an area withinthe transport hub associated with the cancelled flight is identified. Atstep 11004, it is determined whether there are a sufficient number ofinteractive kiosks present within said identified area for servicing thepassengers affected by the cancelled flight. The determination step11004 is based at least in part on a rules based engine, preferablyutilising data received from the one or more data sources. At step11005, an identification is made as to whether one or more additionalmobile interactive kiosks are available in another, different area ofthe transport hub. At step 11006, a command instruction is issued to anyadditional available mobile interactive kiosks that have beenidentified, if the determining step has resulted in a determination thatthere is not a sufficient number of interactive kiosks present withinthe area associated with the cancelled flight. The command instructioncomprises an instruction for said identified and available one or morekiosks to move to the area associated with the cancelled flight.

Referring now to the flow diagram of FIG. 12 of the drawings, the mainsteps performed by one embodiment of the invention will now bedescribed. The method relates to the deployment of one or more mobiledrive units at a transport hub. The steps are preferably performed at aserver, such as the resource management platform.

At step 12001, data is received from one or more data sources. The datasources include a departure control system. The data received from thedeparture control system relates the number of passengers that havechecked in for a flight that is due to depart from the transport hub. Atstep 12002, the received data is analysed. This includes the datarelating to the departing flight, preferably together with data receivedfrom at least one other data source. At step 12003, a determination ismade as to whether there are a sufficient number of interactive kioskspresent within a check-in area associated with said departing flight.This is based at least in part on a rules based engine and the datareceived from the departure control system. At step 12004, anidentification is made as to whether one or more additional mobileinteractive kiosks are available in another, different area of thetransport hub. At step 12005, a command instruction is issued to anyadditional available mobile interactive kiosks that have been identifiedby the identifying step. Step 12005 is conducted if the determining stephas resulted in a determination that there is not a sufficient number ofinteractive kiosks present within the check-in area associated with saiddeparting flight. The command instruction comprises an instruction forsaid identified and available one or more kiosks to move to the check-inarea associated with said departing flight.

Referring now to the flow diagram of FIG. 13 of the drawings, the mainsteps performed by one embodiment of the invention will now bedescribed. The method relates to deployment of a mobile drive apparatusfor use at a transport hub. The steps are preferably performed at amobile drive apparatus, such as a mobile interactive kiosk.

At step 13001, a wireless communication link with a resource managementsystem is formed, preferably via a wireless beacon within the transporthub. At step 13002, a command instruction is received from the resourcemanagement system via the wireless communication link. At step 13003, adrive function is initiated on the mobile drive apparatus in response toreceiving the command instruction. The drive function is configured todrive the apparatus from a first location to a second location withinthe transport hub.

Referring now to the flow diagram of FIG. 14 of the drawings, the mainsteps performed by one embodiment of the invention will now bedescribed. The method relates to deployment of a mobile drive apparatusfor use at a transport hub. The steps are preferably performed at amobile drive apparatus, such as a mobile interactive kiosk.

At step 14001, a wireless communication link is formed with one or moreremote computers or servers, such as a departure control system,preferably via a wireless beacon within the transport hub. At step14002, data is received relating to the transport hub via the wirelesscommunication link. The data originates from the one or more remotecomputers or servers. At step 14003, the received data is analysed and adetermination is made as to whether the drive apparatus should be movedfrom its current location to a new, different location within thetransport hub. The determination is preferably based at least in part ona rules based engine and the data received from the departure controlsystem. At step 14004, a command instruction is issued to a drive meansof the mobile drive apparatus. The command instruction is issued if theanalysing step 14003 has resulted in a determination that the apparatusshould be moved to a new, different location within the transport hub.At step 14005, a drive function is initiated on the mobile driveapparatus in response to receiving the command instruction. The drivefunction is configured to autonomously drive the apparatus to the new,different location within the transport hub.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the mobile communicationor client device may include a computing device, such as a desktopcomputer, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, a personal digitalassistant, a mobile telephone, a smartphone, an internet enabledtelevision, an internet enabled television receiver, an internet enabledgames console or a portable games device.

The server may comprise a computer processor running one or more serverprocesses for communicating with client devices. The server processescomprise computer readable program instructions for carrying out theoperations of the present invention. The computer readable programinstructions may be or source code or object code written in or in anycombination of suitable programming languages including proceduralprogramming languages such as C, object orientated programming languagessuch as C#, C++, Java, scripting languages, assembly languages, machinecode instructions, instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, andstate-setting data.

The wired or wireless communication networks described above may bepublic, private, wired or wireless network. The communications networkmay include one or more of a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), the Internet, a mobile telephony communication system, ora satellite communication system. The communications network maycomprise any suitable infrastructure, including copper cables, opticalcables or fibres, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers andedge servers. The user interface described above may comprise aGraphical User Interface.

Embodiments of the invention may include an on-screen graphical userinterface. The user interface may be provided, for example, in the formof a widget embedded in a web site, as an application for a device, oron a dedicated landing web page. Computer readable program instructionsfor implementing the graphical user interface may be downloaded to theclient device from a computer readable storage medium via a network, forexample, the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN) and/or a wireless network. The instructions may be stored in acomputer readable storage medium within the client device.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the inventiondescribed herein may be embodied in whole or in part as a method, a dataprocessing system, or a computer program product including computerreadable instructions. Accordingly, the invention may take the form ofan entirely hardware embodiment or an embodiment combining software,hardware and any other suitable approach or apparatus.

The computer readable program instructions may be stored on anon-transitory, tangible computer readable medium. The computer readablestorage medium may include one or more of an electronic storage device,a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, an electromagneticstorage device, a semiconductor storage device, a portable computerdisk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portable compact discread-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD), a memorystick, a floppy disk.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention may be implemented as circuitboard which may include a CPU, a bus, RAM, flash memory, one or moreports for operation of connected I/O apparatus such as printers,display, keypads, sensors and cameras, ROM, a communications sub-systemsuch as a modem, and communications media.

The flowcharts of FIGS. 10 to 14 illustrate the operation of exampleimplementations of systems, methods, and computer program productsaccording to various embodiments or aspects of the present invention.Each block in the flowchart or block diagrams may represent a modulecomprising one or more executable computer instructions, or a portion ofan instruction, for implementing the logical function specified in theblock. The order of blocks in the diagram is only intended to beillustrative of an example. In alternative implementations, the logicalfunctions illustrated in particular blocks may occur out of the ordernoted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown as adjacent oneanother may be carried out simultaneously or, depending on thefunctionality, in the reverse order. Each block in the flowchart may beimplemented in software, hardware or a combination of software andhardware.

1. A mobile drive apparatus for use at a transport hub, the apparatuscomprising: one or more drive motors configured to drive the apparatusfrom a first location to a second location within the transport hub; awireless communication module and antenna configured to: form a wirelesscommunications link with a resource management system, and receivecommand instructions from the resource management system; and a controlprocessor coupled to the one or more drive motors and coupled to thewireless communication module and antenna; wherein the control processoris configured to control the one or more drive motors to move theapparatus from the first location to the second location within thetransport hub, in response to receiving a command instruction from theresource management system via the wireless communication module.
 2. Themobile drive apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the commandinstruction comprises a locational component for indicating the secondlocation within the transport hub that the apparatus should move to; andwherein the command instruction comprises a temporal component forindicating when the apparatus should move to the second location withinthe transport hub.
 3. The mobile drive apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the apparatus comprises a memory storing a map depicting atleast an area of the transport hub, and wherein the apparatus isconfigured to use the map to navigate between the first location and thesecond location within the area of the transport hub, along one or morepredetermined paths.
 4. The mobile drive apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the apparatus comprises one or more sensors configured to detectone or more objects in proximity to the apparatus and alert the controlprocessor, in the event that an object is detected.
 5. The mobile driveapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is an interactivekiosk.
 6. The mobile drive apparatus according to claim 5, wherein theinteractive kiosk is configured to provide one or more of the followingservices or functions: check-in, flight booking, flight re-booking,ticket changing, airport information, flight status checking, documentverification, passenger verification, boarding pass printing, and bagtag printing.
 7. The mobile drive apparatus according to claim 5,wherein the second location is a location within the transport hub wherethere is expected to be an increased demand for a plurality ofinteractive kiosks.
 8. The mobile drive apparatus according to claim 1,wherein: the apparatus comprises a memory storing a plurality ofpredetermined paths through the transport hub between the first locationand the second location within the transport hub; and the controlprocessor is configured to, in response to receiving the commandinstruction, control the one or more drive motors to move the apparatusfrom the first location to the second location along a selected path ofthe plurality of predetermined paths stored in the memory.
 9. The mobiledrive apparatus according to claim 8, wherein if the apparatus detectsan obstruction on the selected path, the control processor is furtherconfigured to select an alternative path from the plurality ofpredetermined paths stored in the memory, and control the one or moredrive motors to move the apparatus along the selected alternative pathto the second location.
 10. The mobile drive apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the command instruction is received from the resourcemanagement system following a determination that the second location ofthe transport hub is likely to experience an unexpected increase inpassenger levels.
 11. A method of deploying a mobile drive apparatus foruse at a transport hub, the method comprising, at the mobile driveapparatus: forming a wireless communication link with a resourcemanagement system; receiving a command instruction from the resourcemanagement system via the wireless communication link; and initiating adrive function on the mobile drive apparatus in response to receivingthe command instruction, said drive function being configured to drivethe apparatus from a first location to a second location within thetransport hub.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wirelesscommunication link is formed via a wireless beacon within the transporthub.